Thanks for helping along, i really appreciate this help cause I cant seem to solve this ‘problem’ by myself. I could start with 20-25 ft. and chill the bottles, line etc (the chilling part is what I have been pretty much doing so far actually). How would you go about purging and at which psi-level would you set the regulator to start pouring?
And Yeah, I am pretty sure that the bottles aren’t letting CO2 escape; they are sealed pretty well.
I’ve served carbonated water off a keg before, but have never bottled it. I believe I carbed at 25 psi in a 37° degree fridge (just under 4 volumes) for about two weeks, then served at normal serving pressure of 9psi via a picnic tap. It was indistinguishable from La Croix.
45 psi sound high. I’m doing soda water at 30 psi, which is common for soda from what I’ve been able to find. Temp is set at 40 degrees F. I use 25 ft of 3/16" line for the soda water. It works well. It takes at least a week to carbonate after I start it with LOTS of shaking under pressure to get the CO2 absorption off to a good beginning.
It stays carbonated pretty well after “bottling” but the pressure can sure build up if it gets warm. As others have said, be very sure you use containers that can take the pressure. I’ve found they maintain carbonation best if you leave minimal air space when filling, start cold, and keep them cold.
Your mileage my vary, of course.
I have a couple of them, and experimented with using them to carb my brews. My trial run was on a keg of water. I pulled the water out of the keg through the liquid line, just like brews. Then it went through the carbonator, the original gas was set at 80PSI’s ! Then it was returned to the keg, through gas port . Very fizzy and was instantaneous . It did work with my brews too, although, alot of gizmo’s and cleaning to “hope” it was sanitary… My bottom line was, it worked very well with water, brew… well. Its do-able, I would worry about sanitizing. Sneezles61
That is also something I could try; to carb it at a lower pressure than I am doing right now and get the carbonation level to improve by trying to get it even colder (in line with loopie_beer’s suggestion) and letting the solution stay in the fridge longer (also in line with what brew-cat suggested). Did you bleed the keg before u served it? And do you remember how long your line was?
That could be a good start, to lower the pressure from 45 psi; Voltron suggested that too. Also the suggestion about the length of the line is something I want to try too in combination with the diameter. Can you tell me how you bottle a bit more specifically since that part is where I am experiencing the most difficulty? I mean, I assume you connect the line with a ballock to the keg’s “out”; do you use a wand/picnic tap or anything else to pour in in a bottle? Did you bleed the keg and if so, at which pressure did you set the regulator to serve the carbonated water? Do you see a lot of bubbles in your line while you bottle; when I tried the line was filled with bubbles (= CO2) which caused the bottling to be relatively violent. Perhaps you use a counter pressure filler?
Thanks also for the tip on leaving as minimal air space as possible; can’t wait to try that once the bottling is under control.
And you are really right on not using containers that are not designed for the pressure. Even though I actually want to use glass, I think its best to start with simple plastic bottles first. And also on the cooling part, couldn’t agree with you more.
Thanks!
Thanks! It helps to understand how this product works; in that it doesn’t substitute the keg for you from what I understand, but rather carbonates the water coming from the keg and returns it after its carbonated.
I don’t bleed the keg entirely, but I will burp it real quick so it doesn’t splash out of the glass during that first pour. I use the “foam-free” picnic taps from our host. I believe they 5’ of 3/16" ID beverage tubing. I serve between 8-9 psi.
Thanks Voltron, these comments are helping me along the way I feel!
There a tank onboard the carbonator, and thats where the carbination happens, then it will kick it out, as though you opened a faucet, then it fills again and forces the carbination… it may take a few hours to completely carb your keg… I did this when the water was cold… Sneezles61
Thanks! I visited the website (Kegman) and had an impression that the machine is more intended to actually serve carbonated water on the spot, not necessarily if you intend on putting the selzer in a bottle, would you agree? And did you feel there was enough fizz when the water was despensed in a cup or glass?
@DrakeDredgewater I’m no expert at this. I looked at it as similar to filling a growler with beer. There are lots of posts on that subject. I use a simple growler filler on a beer faucet (picture below) to fill the “bottle” from the bottom.
I have tried filling at both full pressure (30) and lowered pressure (~5). At low pressure it doesn’t splash in the “bottle” but it does result in a lot more bubbles in the line. I have not decided which is better.
How long are you trying to keep your bottled soda? I’ve had good success for a couple days but have not tried anything longer so I can’t comment on how long it lasts.
I’m thinking about experimenting with Soda Stream’s reusable bottles as well as stainless steel growlers. I saw some of those rated for 30 psi.
Please let us know what you find successful.
I agree… BUT… Just like brewing, there has to be a way of making what you want. With that said… Since your in a cold, and closed loop, once the keg slows down recirculating, you can turn up the pressure… The carbonator is actually forcing the two together… The regulator for that carbonator will go up to 120PSI !! I did find out when I pushed a brew through it… One keg of what seemed like merengue!! Took a long time for it to separate to get my brew back… See, just by tinkering with the process, you can and will create what you want… Heck, add a little flavoring to change it up a bit… How do you think the big shooter do this, eh? If you lived close, I’d let you try one before you fork out alot of money… Sneezles61
Thanks @sneezles61. It’s still a bit of a work in progress. I can create a separate post in a few days rather than hijack this one.
Nice Steve! This seems to be like a great setup! This could be definitely something to consider.
I experienced the same with using lower pressure; it causes the lines to be filled with too much bubbles; therefore I would think that using higher pressure would be better.
Ideally I would like the soda’s to be stored for maybe a couple weeks, but right now a couple of days is fine:)
Haha, you are right; tinkering the process is the way to go. And thanks for the offer to drop by and see how your carbonator works! I do come to New York every couple of months, however I live in the Netherlands so yeah I guess that would be difficult (unless you happen to live closeby NY lol).
Thanks all for sharing. I’ll go experiment with several of the suggestions (e.g. colder lines). I feel a combination of that and the basic setup of a simple counter pressure could be something worth exploring as well. Again, thanks so much for the advice!
One simple suggestion. For bottles I would save commercial unflavored seltzer water bottles. We drink seltzer a lot and my wife will drink it with vodka and lime on occasion. The plastic bottles are made to take that pressure so I fill them with homebrew for taking out in a cooler. They are also not breakable, a plus if we are on the boat.
Sorry Drake, I’m in Minnesota, not too far from Lake Superior… Sneezles61
